Love of The Parents
by dnguyen27
Summary: This is a story about what happens in real life to Kirito's family while he is stuck in SAO's world.


**November 6th, 2022**

It's been a normal weekday for Midori. Working, coming home, preparing food for her children,... have become a daily routine. Today is a bit different though. It's finally Friday

**6pm**.

Midori Kirigaya sluggishly slides the key into the bolt, slowly turns it clockwise. "Tick", the door swings open. "Finally, home sweet home" - she forces up a smile tiredly. The house is surprising quiet today. "Hmm, everyone is out, Minetaka at work, Suguha at Kendo practice, but where is Kazuto?"

"Kazuto, I am home" - Midori yells upstairs.

No answer.

Midori shakes her head, "He is too busy enjoying his video games to welcome his mother home."

She knows her adopted son well. Everybody in the family is aware of Kazuto's passion and talent with the computer. Inspired by her husband, a editor for a technology magazine, Kazuto fall in love with computers. She recalls when he was only in elementary school, Kazuto was already capable of building a computer from parts. At the age of 10, he managed to find erased records at the national registry. As he grows up, his relationship with the computer and the virtual world seems to overwhelm his relationship with the real world. It is common for her dear son to be in his room all day all night. Sometimes she doesn't even see him for a few days!

**7:30pm**

Dinner is ready. Midori looks at the result of her effort proudly. She decides to surprise Kazuto by making his favorite dish. "He is going to absolutely love it" - she smiles.

"Where is Kazuto?" - She turns to her husband and asks. " Could you come upstairs and tell him that dinner is ready?

Minetaka puts down the newspaper and heads to Kazuto's room.

"Kazuto, son, your favorite pork chop is ready. Come on down. We are all waiting for you."

Still no answer.

A bit worried, he decides to open the door to see what his son is up to. Kazuto looks like he is sleeping on his bed, but with a helmet-like device on his head, all wired up. Minetaka immediately recognizes it. "Nerve Gear, damn, this kid is really up to the new technological trend. Not a lot of people have had a chance to try it out yet." As a geek, he knows how game-changing, groundbreaking Nerve Gear is to the gaming is the newly-invented device that allows that stimulates the user's five senses via their brain, players can experience and control their in-game characters with their minds. He understands that Kazuto is willing to skip this dinner to fully enjoy it.

"Fine then. Have a good time in there son."

The family has their dinner, but doesn't forget to save their son some food for later.

**November 7h, 2022**

Minetaka and Midori wakes up to find out that the food is still untouched. They both sigh.

"He hasn't eaten yet" - Midori says, sounds very worried and upset at the same time.

" I guess he is just having a lot of fun with the Nerve Gear. He will be find, he is almost an adult already" - Minetaka replies, comforting his upsetting wife.

Right at that moment, their phones ring. "Breaking News: Players trap in Sword Art Online's virtual world, potentially get killed in reality by the game."

Confused, scared at the same time, Minetaka turns to his wife. "That is most definitely the video game Kazuto is playing."

Midori can see the fear in her husband's eyes. He is always a calm and collected man. She can sense that this is a very very big trouble. " I will go check on him." - she tells her husband.

" Many players of the new released video game, Sword Art Online (SAO), the first game to utilize Nerve Gear, find themselves in grave danger. These players log into SAO for the first time, and later discover that they are unable to log out. They are then informed by Akihiko Kayaba, SAO's creator, that if they wish to be free, they must reach the 100th floor of the game's tower and defeat the final boss. However, if their avatars die in-game, their bodies will also DIE in the real world. Any attempt to remove the Nerve Gear from its user also will wound up killing him or her. According to our report, the casualty has reached over 200 in the past 24 hours…."

Shocked from the news, Minetaka immediate realizes another problem: Midori might have removed the helmet. As fast as he can, he runs up the room, screaming to his wife: "DO NOT TRY TO TAKE THAT HELMET OFF HIM."

Midori was trying to unplug the device to wake Kazuto up when she heard her husband shouting. She already had one hand on the plug. She immediately stops after hearing that. "Minetaka never shouts like that" - she thinks to herself fearfully.

"He will be instantly killed if you take that device off him." - Minetaka shouts again with both seriousness and fear in his trembling voice.

Seeing the helmet is still on his son's head, Minetaka relieves. He then proceeds to explain the situation to his wife.

The silence triumphs over the small room. In this very moment, they are experiencing the worst feeling in the world, the feeling that their children is very close to the scythe of the Grim Reaper. They might lose him forever… They are also lost, they have absolutely no idea how to deal with the situation, what to expect, what to hope.

Midoraiand Minetaka both follow their own thoughts.

"So there is a chance that he will make it back safely?" - Midori breaks the silence.

"Technically, yes. He just has to beat the game without dying, which is, to my understanding, almost impossible to accomplish. But yes, there is hope, a tiny hope."

"Kazuto is good at this, right? He will come back, right? Please tell me he will be find. Save him, Minetaka, you are an expert in this. Please, please, save our son.- Midori bursts in tears.

"... I don't know. I can't do anything..." - The husband replies, tears coming from his eyes.

At this very moment, they both realize how hopeless, helpless the situation is.

Midori and Minetaka, even though they are Kazuto's step parents, have never, even in a split second, thought about the fact that he is not their own son. They just know that they will do everything to take care of him, to provide for him because they do, indeed, love him dearly with all of their hearts. They won't give up on Kazuto. They simply won't, even if the odd is so not in their favor.

" He will fight his way back to us. He will. I know for a fact that, in that world full of danger, he will always think of us, and he will not give up on us. He's always been a fighter. All we need to do is not giving up on him." - Minetaka says to his wife after regaining his consciousness.

"But first, we need to bring him to the hospital. He needs the medical care."

"Minetaka, can you promise me he will come back to us?"

"I promise you."

"I promise you too, mom and dad."


End file.
